The Courthouse and the Earthquake of 1925
by Sheila Lodge April 2022Estimated Reading time: 4 minutes
Big cracks cut across the Courthouse
Santa Barbara County is on the Pacific Rim, the most geologically active place on the planet. The Rim is known as the Ring of Fire and on June 29, 1925, the Ring trembled in the Santa Barbara Channel, and a major earthquake struck the City of Santa Barbara.
Often described as destroying or devastating Santa Barbara, damage was much less than widely reported. While some buildings downtown were badly damaged, the Engineering Committee on the earthquake reported that “Wherever good materials have been properly used and the design has been an intelligent one, slight damage or none has resulted.”
However, the Greek Revival style Santa Barbara County Courthouse of 1875 was not among those with no or slight damage.
Often described as destroying or devastating Santa Barbara, damage was much less than widely reported. While some buildings downtown were badly damaged, the Engineering Committee on the earthquake reported that “Wherever good materials have been properly used and the design has been an intelligent one, slight damage or none has resulted.”
However, the Greek Revival style Santa Barbara County Courthouse of 1875 was not among those with no or slight damage.
One wall and the second floor of the County jail collapsed. Fortunately no inmates were in that section when it fell.
The broken column at the front of the Courthouse no longer supported the roof.
The 1889 Richardsonian Romanesque style Hall of Records was also badly damaged.
Before the earthquake
After the earthquake
The County Auditor moved outside as did many other offices and businesses such as banks as aftershocks continued to rattle the community for weeks following the June 29th quake.
Increasing county population resulted in a need for more space for county services in the early 20th century. In 1919, six years before the quake, the county sponsored an architectural competition for the design of a new much larger courthouse. Finalists were selected, but not having funds for construction the county shelved the plans.
With the earthquake things changed dramatically. Four days after the quake the county Board of Supervisors hired the San Francisco architectural firm of William Mooser Company which had been a finalist in the 1919 competition to plan and build the new courthouse. The firm had designed and built many commercial and public buildings in California. William Mooser II was the head of the firm, and his son, William Mooser III, was also an architect. He was in charge of the supervision of the project. He had studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and had lived in Italy and Spain for several years. He was very familiar with the graceful Moorish style of architecture in the Andalusian region of Spain. A local architect, J. Wilmer Hershey, had substantial influence on the exterior design.
One year after the quake in June, 1926, a $700,000 bond issue was passed by the voters for the building of a new courthouse estimated to cost $900,000. Construction began in October of 1926. The courthouse was finished in March of 1929 and was dedicated on August 14, 1929, two months before the stock market crash.
The final cost of the building was $1,368,000. Fortunately oil was struck in 1928 at Ellwood, a few miles west of Santa Barbara. An oil tax revenue paid for the difference between the $900,000 original estimated cost of the building and its actual cost upon completion.
At the turn of the 20th century, in areas in which the Spanish had settled, a movement began to build in Mission or Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style. The Board of Supervisors specified that the style of the new courthouse be Spanish Andalusian, a variant of Spanish Colonial Revival.
Numerous buildings had been built in those styles in Santa Barbara before the earthquake.
Among them were the train station of 1905,
the Riviera campus, 1913,
the Lobero Theater, 1924,
and City Hall, 1924.
The buildings of Spanish Colonial Revival style fared well in the earthquake, making it desirable structurally as well as aesthetically.The sturdy Roman arches which direct the weight of the structure directly down were not damaged.
Facades were rebuilt in that style all along Santa Barbara's main street, giving it what became its iconic look.
State and Carrillo Streets post-earthquake, looking up State Street
Called by many the most beautiful courthouse in the United States, the Spanish Colonial Revival Courthouse became the most splendid example of the style in Santa Barbara.
Photo credits:
Historic photos: Santa Barbara Historical Museum
Modern photos: Author